{"id":33597,"date":"2023-09-13T16:24:50","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T16:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack"},"modified":"2023-09-13T16:38:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T16:38:56","slug":"mines-minister-under-vicious-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack","title":{"rendered":"Mines Minister under vicious attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>MINING Minister Mohlomi Moleko on Monday came under vicious attack during a debate on the mining sector for allegedly defending mining companies in Lesotho.<\/p>\n

The debate was aimed at clarifying the economic impact and compliance of mining companies in the country. In his keynote address, Moleko said the mining industry is one of the largest contributors to our economy.<\/p>\n

Moleko said contributions do not only include dividends and royalties but also social responsibilities to the communities. However, he said there are rumours that the mines are robbing Basotho.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally consider this embarrassing,\u2019\u2019 he said. Moleko said it is embarrassing for Basotho to be against such industries that are making a significant contribution to our economy.<\/p>\n

With the government holding a 30 percent stake in the mines, Moleko said it is benefiting by getting over 60 percent of profits in such mines. \u201cWe are earning more with zero contribution from the government,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Moleko said Lets\u030ceng Diamond, as one example, contributed M800 million to the government in its profit last year. He said the mine was left with only M420 million.<\/p>\n

The minister said that was \u201cbeing unfair to the mines\u201d. His remarks appeared to have incensed most delegates at the conference. First to throw the stone was the Basotho National Party (BNP) leader, Machesetsa Mofomobe, who expressed his \u201cdisappointment by the tone of the minister\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mofomobe accused the minister of speaking as if he was defending \u201cthe miners who are scamming Basotho\u201d. \u201cI would have expected a better tone,\u201d Mofomobe said.<\/p>\n

Mofomobe refuted Moleko\u2019s statement that Basotho are contributing nothing towards diamond mining. \u201cOur contribution comes from our resources,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I am listening, I can hear the voice of the big mining companies coming out of the government official,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mofomobe told the minister that providing services and goods to the mining companies does not require that they get tenders from the government \u201chence, it is none of the government\u2019s business what is happening on the ground\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is none of your business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will request your silence on it.
\nMofomobe was referring to the tender fight in which a local civil aviation company, Mohahlaula Airlines, is fighting the government for opening competition from foreign companies.<\/p>\n

Mohahlaula says giving foreign airline companies tenders to transport diamonds from Lesotho violates the law, arguing that the law provides for such opportunities to be given to a Lesotho company.<\/p>\n

Mohahlaula is the only airline company registered in Lesotho and owned by indigenous Basotho. The Civil Aviation Director, Motsoaole Lesupi, was suspended last week for defying the government\u2019s direction to give foreign companies permits to transport diamonds in stark violation of the law.<\/p>\n

Mofomobe told the minister that he saw it coming, that Lesupi would be suspended despite that he was legally correct and the ministry wrong. He said the decision to suspend Lesupi was influenced by the mines.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you falling into those traps?\u201d he asked the minister. He said Moleko \u201cis supporting an unfair decision\u201d. \u201cHow do you expect us to perceive you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocate Lucy Sekoboto, who was part of the team that drafted the Mining Act, said there has to be transparency in the procedure to award such jobs to companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasotho should be given first preference in service delivery to the mines,\u201d Advocate Sekoboto said.<\/p>\n

She said the mines should follow the right processes so that the service providers can know when they have failed to meet safety and economic efficiency standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow would one know when one failed the standards if the processes were not transparent?\u201d she said. She said even the team responsible for monitoring the performance of the mines has become part of the mines.<\/p>\n

Lebakeng Tikheli from the Lesotho Business Chamber said the government has to \u201cdifferentiate between Basotho-owned companies and locally registered companies\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said the law, which talks of Basotho being the first preference in providing services, does not favour indigenous Basotho. \u201cPlease change your definition of beneficiation from locally owned to indigenous businesses,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

He said it clearly defines how Basotho should benefit from local diamonds. \u201cI am shocked by your side of the story,\u2019\u2019 he said. The Social Revolutionaries (SR) leader, Teboho Mojapela, said the mines have not improved the livelihoods of local communities.<\/p>\n

He said the communities in the mines are the most vulnerable groups. Mojapela said the beneficiation of the mines only covers a small fraction of Basotho, not every Mosotho.<\/p>\n

\u201cI discovered that only foreigners and a few law violators benefit,\u2019\u2019 Mojapela said.<\/p>\n

The Executive Director of the Transformation Resource Centre (TRC), Tsikoane Peshoane, urged the minister to set aside matters that involve service providers and mines.<\/p>\n

Peshoane said the minister should focus on empowering Basotho to get back to business. \u201cUnless we are committed to bringing about structural changes and a legal framework, the policy will not make any difference,\u2019\u2019 Peshoane said.<\/p>\n

In defending the mines, Moleko said the Income Tax Bill Amendment 2021, which seeks to end a zero-rated era, \u201cis erroneous and unfair to the mines\u201d. \u201cThe mines are not only making a significant contribution, but they also comply with laws and regulations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said in 2022 Lets\u030ceng allocated 89 percent of its subcontracts to Basotho. He said this initiative shows compliance with giving Basotho first preference on providing services to the mine.<\/p>\n

He said 11 percent was allocated to foreign companies based on skills the country does not have. \u201cThe target is that 100 percent of that work should be operated by local companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he said the law stipulates that Basotho should be given first preference on the basis that they meet safety, technical skills, and economic efficiency.<\/p>\n

Moleko said he even forced the mining company to at least give a preferred profit margin of five percent over and above the Act. He said this initiative was to help local companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no way we can let a local company double their prices just because it is a local company,\u201d he said, referring to Mohahlaula.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. MINING Minister Mohlomi Moleko on Monday came under vicious attack during a debate on the mining sector for allegedly defending mining companies in Lesotho. The debate was aimed at clarifying the economic impact and compliance of mining companies in the country. In his keynote address, Moleko said the mining industry is one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":33596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,7],"tags":[233,246,686,245],"class_list":["post-33597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-head-lines","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-economy","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nMines Minister under vicious attack - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MINING Minister Mohlomi Moleko on Monday came under vicious attack during a debate on the mining sector for allegedly de ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mines Minister under vicious attack\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MINING Minister Mohlomi Moleko on Monday came under vicious attack during a debate on the mining sector for allegedly de ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-13T16:24:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-13T16:38:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/09\/sm_1694610469.303951.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mines Minister under vicious attack\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-13T16:24:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-13T16:38:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack\"},\"wordCount\":1019,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/09\/sm_1694610469.303951.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Lesotho\",\"economy\",\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\",\"head lines\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/mines-minister-under-vicious-attack\",\"name\":\"Mines Minister under vicious attack - 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